The Indian Express

‘Aussies cheat, no point in catches pact’

Team India opener Virender Sehwag was not in favour of Ricky Ponting's proposal of having a "catches pact" as he felt there was no point in having such an agreement when the Aussies claim catches against the very spirit of the pact.

Swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag was not in favour of Australian skipper Ricky Ponting's proposal of having a "catches pact" as he felt there was no point in having such an agreement when the Aussies claim catches against the very spirit of the pact.

During India's tour of Down Under earlier this year, a similar pact was finalised between Ponting and Kumble but at the end India felt aggrieved as the Aussies claimed catches taken off half volleys.

However, Ponting again proposed for a similar catches pact this time too between the two teams in the series beginning this Thursday.

"We suffered the most in the catches pact during the last series. There is no point in having such an arrangement when the Australians are claiming one bounce catches!" Sehwag said.

"We'd have won the Sydney Test match if they hadn't claimed catches taken off half volleys in that game," he added.

The right-handed batsman reckons that India would be in an advantageous position in the Test series as it has quality fast bowlers and spinners in their ranks and they don't need to worry about the nature of the pitch.

"Bangalore, Mohali and Nagpur have offered good bounce in the past and with decent tall fast bowlers we can take advantage of these conditions. The flip side if we have spinning tracks for the series, we have the spinners to extract advantage," Sehwag told a TV channel.

While Ponting is losing his sleep over lack of experienced spinners, Sehwag could not have been happier and says it would only pave the way for India to win the series more convincingly.

"Moreover, their spin department is weak and there is a wide possibility that we can win the series either 3-0 or 3-1," he said.

With the spin lacking the sting, all eyes would be on the Australian pace attack led by speedster Brett Lee but Sehwag cautions that more than Lee it would Stuart Clarke who could prove to be the biggest threat.

"He is a great bowler but one can get use to the speed if he stays on the wicket for some time but bowlers like Clarke are the biggest threats. Their accuracy and consistency can be a challenge for our batsmen," said Sehwag.